WEST POINT, NY— From its vantage point atop the rugged cliffs that overlook New York’s Hudson River, the Hotel Thayer brings an almost fortress-like feel to the area, making guests feel at once safe and secure. And true to the lodging mantra of location, location, location, the hotel’s “comfort zone” currency is enhanced by its unique setting: the grounds of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. At a time when safety concerns remain on travelers’ minds, the 150-room property is enjoying a robust market of drive-to rather than fly-to destination guests, just as it had at its inception in 1926. Now celebrating its 76th year, the hotel recently completed an extensive $29 million renovation under the aegis of a group of West Point graduates and their company, Hudson River Partners. Now, with an eye toward the future, HRP has set plans for a secondary new-construction phase that will include a conference center and an additional 128 rooms. “I formed the partnership in 1988-89,” said HRP President Douglas Bennett. “We knew the Hotel Thayer needed to be brought into the modern world, but it held very fond memories for us all from the time we were cadets.” Indeed, the company has two graduates from the 30s and three each from the 40s, 50s and 60s, all with a broad array of military and corporate backgrounds, including Frederic Malek, former president of Marriott Hotels. Despite great enthusiasm, it was not the easiest task to update a property that also created memories for the likes of U.S. presidents Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Gerald Ford, Richard Nixon and George Bush, Army Generals Douglas MacArthur and Omar Bradley, assorted celebrities, and even the 52 American hostages who were released from Iran in 1981, Bennett said. “But we all wanted to get the Thayer back as a serious property, one that could serve the specific needs of West Point,” he said. For starters, the property needed to be privatized, to which the Army agreed, subject to a long-term ground lease, said Bennett. “It didn’t have the money in the defense budget to do the project, roughly $20 million to $25 million. It was a competitive bid process and we won the bid.” After a series of starts and stops, it took until May 1998 to finally close the deal. That November, the renovation began with a $29 million budget. HRP also needed to work within the parameters of the Hotel Thayer’s designation on the National Registry of Historic Places, as well as within local, state and federal historic structure guidelines. The Thayer originally was built to lodge Academy personnel and their guests, and the granite structure deliberately followed the lines of a medieval fortress, from high beamed ceilings and fireplaces right down to floor-to-ceiling Gothic windows, turrets and crenelated rooflines. It even takes its name from Col. Sylvanus Thayer, who was superintendent of the Academy from 1817 to 1833. Two Major Changes Two major changes did occur as part of the restoration. The front entrance originally was a porte cochere that over time was enclosed. That has been brought back to original form. In addition, the Hudson River Partners recreated the original front entrance door, which now includes access for persons with disabilities, at a cost of $40,000. In the hotel numerous rooms were reconfigured creating one unit from two, yielding 125 rooms in the main building and 25 in an annex from the previous 195. The total project cost is estimated at $60 million, Bennett said, and the historic restoration of the property is being followed by virtually all new construction that will double the size of the property. Striving For ‘State-Of-The-Art’ “The existing hotel is about 104,000 square feet and it has some meeting and conference rooms. They’re fine, they’re adequate, but we want state-of-the-art. That’s why we’re doing the second phase,” said Bennett. That will add some 110,000 square feet and include a fitness center with a lap pool designed
